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Business Insight Tuesday December 10 2013
City DEAL
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Ciofty IT would seem that Lancashire could well be on the verge D AL becoming home to the second Industrial Revolution. TheEcounty, N however, still has to overcome the one remaining hurdle CinAits path S HIR – that any further expansion exacerbates the existing gridlock in its road infrastructure. The City Deal – the first in the second wave after those won earlier by the eight core cities – is set to resolve that situation, as it addresses strategic transport and development challenges (see pages 6 to 12). Effectively, this will lead to a net total of 20,000 new private sector jobs (including 5,000 in the new Enterprise Zones), close to £1 billion in gross value added, 17,420 new homes and £2.3bn in leveraged commercial investment. The somewhat oddly named Preston, South Ribble and Lancashire City Deal – with Preston being the only actual city – will see the partners in central and local government establish an infrastructure delivery programme and investment fund with a combined value of £434 million. Including four major highway schemes and an improved local community infrastructure – more schools and health facilities – this will establish the platform to allow current businesses to expand and to attract companies keen to join the supply chains of household names in the area (such as BAE Systems, Aircelle and Leyland Trucks). In what is a new departure, the Lancashire Pension Fund has thrown £100m into the City Deal investment fund pot, to be co-invested on a commercial basis in the new housing and development schemes. And while in Lancashire, we take a look at Burnley, which has won the Most Enterprising Area in the UK award, meaning the town is to get a direct rail link to Manchester rather than having to go via Yorkshire or the rival town of Blackburn. Also in this issue, we assess another revolution taking place in the biomed and life sciences sector in the North under the auspices of Bionow, the membership body that is steering its success. (See this spread.)
Inside
Cover story US boss hails City Deal promise Pages 6/7 The Times Forum Key figures see beyond The Crawl Pages 10/11 Law firm rankings Celebrating the roots of respect Pages 14/15 The Times Business Insight reaches more senior business people in the North of England than any other quality newspaper. Indeed, with 184,000 readers* and reaching almost 20 per cent of the all c-suite executives**, there is no better place to be seen. *Source NRS July 2011 - June 2012 **Source BBS 2011
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How appliance of science aids the economy
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Biomed
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The North is home to a vibrant and growing biomedical and life sciences sector
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he biomedical and life sciences sector in the North of England is increasingly important to the UK, as economic policy continues to be refocused towards the opportunities within the burgeoning global knowledge economy. Bionow is an award-winning membership organisation which sits at the heart of the Northern biomedical community, and its mission is to ensure that the sector continues to thrive – by providing targeted, high-level support to member companies and organisations. On the broader stage, Bionow is working to link companies, academia and the clinical base, and to build influence at a national level.Despite extremely difficult economic conditions, a recent Bionow study demonstrated substantial growth in the regional sector as measured by company numbers, employment and its contribution to the economy. The study shows that the North (comprising the North West, Yorkshire and the Humber, and the North East) is home to over 20 per cent of the UK biomedical and life sciences sector as measured by numbers of companies, employment and turnover, and the
Dr Geoff Davison, Bionow’s chief executive North makes a pivotal contribution to the UK through its distinctive strengths in key areas. At the end of 2012, the sector in the North comprised 925 companies employing 38,000 people and generating £10.9 billion in turnover. Across the region there are large pockets of deep specialism, with particular areas of strength in industrial biotechnology, biologics (antibodies, therapeutic proteins and vaccines), small molecule therapeutics, wound care, orthopaedics and specialist
services, including contract research and contract manufacturing. Demonstrating the critical importance of the North, total annual exports from the region of over £8.1bn represent 47 per cent of all classified UK exports and a balance of trade of £4.7bn. The North West is the largest producer in the UK – with £5.5bn in 2011, equivalent to 32 per cent of all classified UK exports – and as an area contributes most to the UK balance of trade. To put this in a national context, the entire UK biomedical and life sciences sector at the end of 2012 comprised over 4,500 companies, with approximately 166,000 employees and generating a turnover of over £50bn. The majority of these companies are SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises with fewer than 250 employees), along with a small – under 5 per cent – but significant investment base of large global pharmaceutical and health technology companies seeking ways to de-risk and externalise aspects of their research and development (R&D). Based on their number, diversity, contribution to the economy and critical importance to the “new models” in this industry, the growth potential of SMEs offers significant economic opportunity for the UK – underpinned by the country’s enviable academic and clinical base, a source of global comparative advantage. Biomedical companies are particularly valuable to the economy, as their business is centred on products protected by pat-
Bionow, the sector’s northern voice
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ionow is a specialist business development and services company focused on the biomedical industry in the North of England. It provides innovative products and services that deliver tangible, value-spanning procurement, insurance, recruitment, training and specialist advice. Bionow’s specialist events attract a wide audience and address key topics of interest to the sector, most notably the recent BioInfect conference in November which explored the challenge of antimicrobial resistance. The Bionow membership scheme offers subscribing companies significant extra value via a basket of carefully chosen preferred suppliers.
The Bionow membership base includes start-ups and early-stage firms, as well as established growthoriented companies. The membership offering focuses upon the specific needs of firms at different stages of their development, including dedicated business support programmes, shared procurement schemes with significant cost savings, exclusive insurance benefits, recruitment and training services, local and national events and access to a vibrant network of businesses. Launched as a not-for-profit organisation in July 2011, Bionow already brings benefit to over 200 subscribing members in terms of tangible return, connectivity and – increasingly –
through being a voice for the sector in the North. As a community of biomedical companies, there is long-term strategic advantage in working together: Driving collaboration to make our public research infrastructure more accessible to business. Promoting the North of England biomedical sector as a preferred area in which to locate, establish and grow biomedical businesses. Creating an environment which de-risks the investment required to deliver world-leading commercial and clinical gains. Visit Bionow at www.bionow.co.uk, or email info@bionow.co.uk
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ents and multiple regulatory authority licences. Once initial approval is achieved, there is the prospect of some ten years of growing and “protected” manufacture. Government incentives including R&D tax credits encourage companies to carry out R&D in the UK, with Patent Box incentivising companies to manufacture in the UK through generous reductions in corporation tax. Speke, close to the centre of Liverpool, is home to specialist manufacturing facilities owned by multinational companies Eli Lilly, Novartis, MedImmune and Actavis. More than 1,500 employees work at these facilities, representing the largest concentration of biomanufacturing capability in Europe. The North is a region of excellence in development and manufacturing capability, which is either absent or less developed elsewhere. As such, the Northern capability and investment is complementary to other key geographic areas such as the “golden triangle” of Oxford, Cambridge and London, areas which have excellence in discovery and early-stage innovation but which need to strengthen translation to commercial success. The North is home to the N8 Research Partnership universities, along with a further cohort of other universities, all of which bring a unique contribution to research and innovation in the biomedi-
The sector must be enabled to compete globally
cal space. “Smart specialisation” – or doing what you are good at – provides the strongest basis for regional economic growth. Bionow believes a priority for the UK is to strengthen the links between these complementary regions, thereby augmenting the country’s overall ability to generate novel therapeutics, taking them through the clinic all the way to the patient. In his recent review, Sir Andrew Witty – the GlaxoSmithKline chief executive – asserted that “Much of the UK’s
comparative economic advantage in the study to determine how the specialist life 21st century could be derived from our science manufacturing capability in the universities […] and universities should North could be further facilitated and make facilitating economic growth a core grown more quickly through skills, trainstrategic goal.” Bionow sits at the heart of ing, capital facilities, fiscal incentives and driving this interaction between business exploiting advanced technologies. and universities in the North, and this is The study would also explore ways to a core offering of their membership ser- develop world-class infrastructure such vices. as a Billingham bio-product developThe volume, breadth and maturity of ment park, a Speke vaccine manufacturthe biomedical sector in the North has ing technology centre and maximising been recognised by international compa- the impact of the new BioHub at Aldernies which supply products and services ley Park. into the global sector. Companies sup Bionow recommends a strategy of plying bio-analytical equipment, special- de-risking critical investment steps and ist contract services or laboratory sup- supporting capital investment in manuplies have chosen to locate and inwardly facturing to encourage the growth of invest in the North in preference to other SMEs into larger companies. It would also locations in the UK or Europe, having like more support for key specialist groups been drawn by the strong local market – such as Bionow itself – to drive strategic and skill base to build a European pres- development within the sector. “There is currently a critical opporence. Recent examples include ICON De- tunity for the UK within the biomedical velopment Solutions, Fujifilm Diosynth, / life science sector in the North,” says Gen-Probe, MedImmune, QIAGEN, Dr Geoff Davison, chief executive of BiThermo Fisher, Waters, Alere and Surgi- onow. “Industry is prepared to contribute cal Innovations. There is still much to do, to deliver growth – evidenced by major inhowever, to capitalise and build on the vestments and the rapid uptake of Bionow strengths of the North. subscriptions. However, a significant marBionow is taking the lead in driving ket failure exists. This must be addressed interaction and catalysing the develop- by Government to ensure that the sector ment of a well-connected vibrant com- is fully enabled to compete on a global bamunity in the North. To further support sis and deliver this strategic opportunity this, Bionow has called for a significant for the UK economy.”
Dinner date with the brightest of partners
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ionow has become the barometer for assessing the health of the biomedical sector in the North, and lends credence to the view that buoyancy is back by having doubled its membership to 200 over the last 12 months. The prestigious annual Bionow awards dinner, held in November, has become the platform to showcase the very best of this world-class sector. Now in its 12th year, this year’s dinner was attended by 330 guests, and was hosted by Dr Geoff Davison and Dr John Stageman, respectively chief executive and chair of Bionow. The scene was set with pre-dinner cocktails of different colours served in test tubes, presumably to give the scientists a Dr Frankenstein-like buzz. In his call to action, Dr Stageman singled out the need for more cooperation between the key Northern universities engaged in leading life science research and translation. “The Technology Strategy Board wants to provide more strategically aligned programmes,” he said, “to foster collaborative routes for translating research results both to patients and to the economy as fast as possible.” Dr Stageman argued that movement is already under way. “Over the past two years,” he said, “the N8 deans of medicine have been working to capitalise on the formidable intellectual and research capability. Recently, they and their eight major teaching hospital trusts have formed the Northern Health Science Alliance. “Led by 16 founding partners, they have agreed to collaborate strategically – to bring together their research, their health science and technology and their translation and commercialisation capacity – to
Winning smiles all round at the Bionow awards dinner
enhance the speed of benefits to patients and the economy.” Moving on to the awards, Dr Stageman said: “We have a fantastic turnout tonight – we had over 70 applications for our awards, which is a bellwether to judge the optimism and enthusiasm of our sector.” The awards themselves had been tailored to reveal the depth and excellence of innovation in the sector. And the winners were…
Who won what Start-up company of the year, sponsored by Baker Tilly
Proveca
Proveca, based at Sci-Tech Daresbury, works in identifying, researching and licensing off-patent medicines with unmet priority healthcare needs, with a focus on the paediatric market. The first Proveca product will go into clinical trials in 2014.
Promising technologist of the year, sponsored by Novartis Vaccines
Ralph Kirk, Redx Pharma Mr Kirk, a scientist at Redx Anti-Infectives, scooped the award for his innovative creative thinking coupled with technical excellence. The company had another finalist in Victoria Walker, senior scientist at Redx Oncology.
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Who won what Healthcare project of the year, sponsored by TRUSTECH, PROMs 2.0
Investment deal of the year, sponsored by DWF LLP
Central Manchester Foundation Trust
Imagen Biotech
A software program which offers major savings to the NHS by reducing the need for follow-up visits to clinics, PROMs 2.0 brought success for the Central Manchester Foundation Trust. It has been the catalyst for setting up virtual clinics for patients following shoulder surgery.
Illustrating the importance of securing investment for breakthrough products, the winning company secured funding from a total of 16 investors. Imagen Biotech won the backing – and subsequently the award – for a high-throughput screening assay which enables samples of tumours to be tested to identify the most effective chemotherapy to deal with the condition.
Biomedical product or service of the year, sponsored by UL EduNeering
Zilico
Zilico have designed a diagnostic technology to give real-time results when used alongside colposcopy for women identified with abnormal smear results. The ZedScan system offers clinical benefits by identifying the optimum biopsy site, and so reduces the number of cervical biopsies required while also facilitating a wider use of “select and treat”. Biomedical product of year, sponsored by Waters, enhanced biofilm dispersion
Newcastle University
A new enzyme which can destroy biofilm – a type of slime coating making bacteria hard to shift and resistant to antibiotics – ensured that Newcastle University captured the award. Biofilms cause dental plaque and sinusitis, and can lead to life-threatening and difficultto-treat infections, particularly on catheters, heart valves, artificial hips and even on breast implants.
Service company of the year, sponsored by Pinsent Masons LLP
Cyprotex
Macclesfield-based Cyprotex specialise in preclinical ADME-Tox, both in vitro and in silico. The company was founded in 1999, and listed on the London Stock Exchange’s AIM in 2002. It serves all types and sizes of drugdiscovery organisations, from the largest pharmaceutical companies to the smallest virtual companies, as well as academic and not-for-profit laboratories. Innovative ageing award, sponsored by MIMIT and Edward Healthcare
Medical Devices Technology International
To show that Bionow has not overlooked the growing importance of the ageing population, this inaugural award was won by Wolverhampton-based Medical Devices Technology International with a 24/7 home community
Dr John Stageman, chair of Bionow, and Samantha Livesey of Pinsent Masons (award sponsor) management service for lower urinary tract symptoms. The service is centred on a handheld recording device (the UroDiary®), which enables patients to monitor their own health both at home and on the move, safely and discreetly. Company of the year, sponsored by AstraZeneca
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Redx Pharma
Understandably the highlight of the evening, the award for company of the year was won by high-flying Redx Pharma, which has grown from 15 employees in March 2012 to 200 today. The company is regarded as the one to watch in the North’s biomedical sector, after having been backed by a £4.7m grant from the Government’s Regional Growth Fund.
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County’s leading lady
F Urging togetherness: Councillor Jenny Mein
or much of her life, Jenny Mein, the leader of Lancashire County Council and one of the key figures in the new City Deal, never aspired to political office. But whether she arrived here by accident or design, her presence in Lancashire politics has provided significant benefits for her adopted county. While she is now hands-on for some of the key decisions that will support Lancashire’s impressive plans for economic growth, it was a tough economic decision of the domestic kind that brought her to the area in the first place. Born and bred in Darlington, and not keen to leave her family roots, she followed her husband Stan to Preston with their children when he was unable to find a job in the North East during the recession of the early 1980s. The family had originally intended to return, but never did so. “It was a tough time,” Councillor Mein says. “Darlington still felt like home for a few years after we arrived here. But Lancashire won me
The big plan will bring more homes and other businesses to invest here and so add to the skilled workforce
over and one day it just clicked. The people were so friendly, there were so many beautiful places on our doorstep, we could find good jobs and the children loved it. We’re very much a Lancashire family now.” Finding herself a job on the “business faults” reception desk at BT, she eventually became a full-time official for the Communication Workers Union (CWU). It was several years later that she was persuaded to become a “paper” candidate for the Labour Party, standing in the Tory safe seat of Preston Rural North. The first time she stood for county council and had a chance of winning was in 2005 – and win she did. “I didn’t have any ambitions then,” Cllr Mein recalls, “but I do now.” She acknowledges that relationships between the various local authorities have actually improved thanks to the current recession. “There’s a realisation by everybody that money isn’t as plentiful as it used to be,” she says, “and in order to do the best for our people we have to work together.” And she feels the same about the co-operation with business. “Businesses are in it to make a profit – they wouldn’t be in it if not,” she says, “and the ability for them to do that
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mately 40 per cent are exported to all European Union markets and to the wider world. Future development is focused on the use of leading-edge applications of information technology in all aspects of truck design, manufacture, procurement and logistics. Mr Cable got behind the wheel of the latest piece of truck technology when he visited Leyland Trucks earlier this year. The new DAF LF model was designed by and is being produced exclusively by Leyland. It has become the UK’s flagship model as it conforms to the stringent new Euro 6 emissions, and saw the largestever development programme at the Lancashire plant. The result is the trucks that will be over 95 per cent cleaner than those subject to the Euro 1 legislation almost 20 years ago. DAF trucks built to the Euro 6 standard in Leyland for the UK and European markets will have noxious and particulate emissions that are respectively around 75 per cent and 66 per cent lower than even the latest vehicles on the road. “In the new DAF LF, we have a truck that sets the industry standard for clean emissions, low noise, fuel efficiency, payload and driver comfort.” Mr Augustyn says. “Meeting this new legislation is vital to our continuing success in expanding DAF’s presence across Europe, where it is the fastest-growing truck marque.” Backed by an investment of £90 million from international truck maker PACCAR Inc – an acronym based on Pacific American Rail Cars, of which Leyland Trucks is a subsidiary – it clearly reveals the im-
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hat Ron Augustyn has slipped easily into his new lifestyle as an American executive living in Lancashire, since arriving here late last year, is thanks in part to his seven-year-old son Axel. Axel arrived back from only his second day attending ArnoldKEQMS, the newly combined Arnold and King Edward VII and Queen Mary School, with two invitations to birthday parties. Since then, Mr Augustyn and his wife Terri have built up a network of friends from the parents of the kids who go to the same school, easing the social transition from Seattle to their new home in Lytham St Annes. It also helped when the family received ten Christmas cards from neighbours last year, despite having only moved in during October. “That’s something you wouldn’t expect in the States,” Mr Augustyn says. The warm welcome has been reciprocated. The managing director of Leyland Trucks is already an outspoken ambassador not only for his company but also for the county in which he finds himself both working and living. A major backer of the new £1 billion City Deal, destined to transform the Preston, South Ribble and Lancashire area, he describes it as “perfect”. “The focus on infrastructure means less congestion for employees,” Mr Augustyn
says. “It will mean more houses and attracts other businesses to invest here – hopefully more engineering companies to add to the skilled workforce which will allow me to recruit for my business. “From a micro level, construction is one of the leading indicators for truck manufacturers. When construction goes up, more trucks are sold – and I’m sure Leyland will get a piece of that.” For his part, Ron Augustyn wants to help position Leyland at the forefront of building up a major automotive supply chain in Lancashire. The fact that he sits on the influential Automotive Council – which is chaired by the business secretary Vince Cable – and is working on bringing in supply chain companies into the UK, suggests he is in a position to deliver as a champion for Lancashire. At the same time, he is willing to open the doors at Leyland to any company that is considering coming to the county. “This is a great place to live, a safe community, with wage rates below the national average, and in close proximity to automotive suppliers and manufacturers,” Mr Augustyn says. “Then there’s a dedicated workforce. Our turnover of employees is roughly 1 per cent. Visiting companies would be stunned by this. People want to work here, to live here.” And Leyland Trucks is recognised as important not only to Lancashire but to the UK as a whole. The company operates from one of Europe’s most advanced truck assembly facilities, the Leyland Assembly Plant, and manufactures the full range of DAF products, of which approxi-
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portance of the UK operation within its nine-plant global network. Such is the level of the skills recognised at Leyland that they were called upon to build the first wave of trucks for the group’s latest plant in Ponta Grossa in Brazil, both for testing and for dealer stock. The Lancashire team also currently has a group of expert advisors in Brazil to iron out any early production wrinkles. Understandably, Ron Augustyn is quick to sing the praises of his Leyland employees at what is the UK’s largest volume truck maker. “The workforce is truly dedicated and shows a huge spirit for innovation and a can-do attitude,” he says. “Sometimes the workforce is happier resolving challenges than when things are
isn’t as easy as it used to be. So it is in their interests to work with public services, just as it is for public services to work with business.” Cllr Mein also singles out the Local Enterprise Partnership as being instrumental in the new era of co-operation. “The LEP covers the whole region,” she says, “so it has brought people to realise we have to work together. Once it gets into your mind that there is no alternative, then it is easier to find solutions. “The City Deal is an example of this. Here is a triumph of partnership working, with Preston, South Ribble and Lancashire all putting a lot of resources into it. That gave the Cabinet Office the faith to see we meant it.” So what are her ambitions now, following the City Deal? One is to make the £300 million in savings required in the next three or four years without impacting on vulnerable people. The other is to steer the Living Wage deal through the council when it goes before it this month. Despite her success, however, Jenny Mein is left with one regret. “My mother died more than 18 months ago,” she says, “so she did not live long enough to see me as leader of the council.”
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Ready for lift-off
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Driving force: Detroit-born Ron Augustyn brings years of experience at Ford and PACCARD – and is well impressed with his new colleagues
We’re going to be here for quite some time and with the City Deal demand is likely to be even greater
running smoothly – and I can’t ask for anything better than that.” The American boss also believes that it has been more than helpful that manufacturing is now firmly back on the UK Government agenda. “The recession brought manufacturing back,” he says. “The whole attitude of keeping Government out of business – which was there prior to the recession – has gone. The manufacturers are saying it is time to bring Government back into business and the Government is saying it is time to bring manufacturing back. “There has also been a recognition that skilled expertise had left the UK and we need to bring it back. It’s a win-win situation.” Mr Augustyn readily admits he did not know all this before arriving, but has made a conscious effort to understand the county and is more than happy to find himself involved in initiatives – and has been actively encouraged in this by Mike Nuttall, chief executive of South Ribble Borough Council, and Edwin Booth, chairman of the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership. Born in Detroit, the beating – if now somewhat faltering – heart of the US automotive industry, Mr Augustyn had no intention of taking the traditional job route of most of his fellow citizens. This may in part have been because his family had no connection with the industry. His father was an accountant and executive vice-president of a plastics distribution company in the city, while none of his seven siblings chose the automotive path, selecting a range of other careers from beautician to plumber. Mr Augustyn first opted for medicine, then switched to engineering at the Michigan State University. Even on graduating, he took a non-automotive job, working for an environmental consulting firm specialising in hazardous waste material. He entered the automotive sector for the first time at Ford, going on to spend nine years not in engineering but in purchasing. It was joining PACCAR in Seattle that saw him switch to manufacturing
– which, he says, “clicked well with me”. Eventually this led to him being offered the role at Leyland. “I had come to Leyland twice before for short trips, so I knew the area,” he says. “I had been to England, Scotland and Ireland on vacation a couple of times, so I knew what vacation-type living was about. I was forewarned about the Lancashire weather many times – but the weather in Seattle is very, very similar to here – so it is not an issue.” While Leyland Trucks has had its fair share of ups and downs since the site built its first steam-powered version in 1896 – particularly the turmoil when British Leyland collapsed – Ron Augustyn expects plain sailing for the next few years. “For the last 15 years,” he says, “we have had a steady ship which has been profitable, and I don’t see any massive instability for the next decade. When you are investing the level of money that PACCAR has done here, the plant is going to be stable. “We are going to be here for quite some time – as long as there is a need for the trucks in our markets. And with the City Deal, the demand is likely to be even greater.” Ron Augustyn is keen to help attract more businesses to Lancashire – and he brought one in when he arrived. His wife Terri had started a small home goods business with a friend in Seattle – selling candle and wine accessories manufactured in Asia – and now this has effectively gone international thanks to the move to Lancashire, where she is operating it in tandem via the internet. So the Augustyns are left with only one problem to resolve due to the move over here – or, rather, young Axel is. He still cannot make up his mind which football team to support. The problem is that everyone keeps giving him football shirts – and every time this happens, he switches allegiance. “He has about six or seven shirts, so he is all over the place at the moment,” says his father – who has already plumped for Liverpool, combined with a sneaking affection for Wigan.
roud Preston has much to be proud about, not least being one of the UK’s brightest development hotspots, writes Councillor Peter Rankin, leader of Preston City Council (right). With £400 million of development and infrastructure from the Government-backed City Deal programme, the Preston area is set for lift-off. Several hi-tech businesses, such as BAE Systems, already have a major stake in the local economy, and this is set to grow rapidly over the next ten years. Preston has long been of strategic importance, being only just over two hours away from London by train. You can be in Manchester, Liverpool or even the Lake District in less than an hour, and in Glasgow again in just over two hours. Preston is located at the heart of the North West motorway network, with close access to the M6, M55, M61 and M65, and the City Deal will provide the infrastructure to unlock future business growth and development sites. It is not surprising, given its location, that Preston is a great place to live – with the potential for 17,420 new homes to be built as part of the City Deal. With such an expanding population, employers have access to a ready-made skilled workforce eager to work hard and to deliver returns, both in terms of profitability and customer satisfaction.
Creating 20,000 new jobs, the City Deal enables Preston to build on the success of the University of Central Lancashire – one of the UK’s largest universities – to grow its knowledge and high-value-added economy. Steeped in history, from Benjamin Franklin and Richard Arkwright to Oscar-winner Nick Park and Ashes hero Andrew Flintoff, Preston is famous for its warm, friendly people and Northern charm. Also well known is its football club, Preston North End – a founder member of the Football League and, in 1888–89, the first club to win the league and FA Cup double. Thanks to the £400m launchpad guaranteed by the City Deal, the local economy is expected to increase by over £1 billion in the next ten years. There are very few places in the UK that can rival such growth and development opportunities. It is certainly not quiet on the Preston front, and the investment potential is clear.
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ou might never have heard of South Ribble, and you certainly won’t find us on a map. But you may have heard of a small town in the borough called Leyland, world-renowned for its production of vehicles, writes Councillor Margaret Smith, leader of South Ribble Borough Council (right). In fact, Leyland DAF is one of Britain’s leading manufacturing businesses and a major employer in the area. South Ribble is also home to Dr Oetker, which makes the top-selling frozen pizza in Italy, and to a new £35 million Waitrose distribution centre set to create 600 new jobs in the area. And we have the successful AB InBev brewery, which recently celebrated brewing its 20-billionth pint for customers including Stella Artois and Budweiser. As you can see, South Ribble is proud of its rich heritage of industry, and very rightly so. We are also extremely proud of our low unemployment rates, well below the national average. We already have big names investing in our borough, but the City Deal will further cement that. As a council, we have also been ahead of the game by producing a local development framework. This
has been subject to rigorous public consultation, and will act as a blueprint for our future. The City Deal will be a catalyst to see those plans, many of which were included in the Central Lancashire New Town Plan some 40 years ago, come to fruition with improved infrastructure, education and health facilities for our residents as well as investment in our town centres and open spaces. We will also see the biggest road-building scheme in the area for generations, including the creation of a new bridge over the River Ribble to join the Enterprise Zones at Samlesbury and Warton, making a world-class location for a variety of hi-tech sectors. Through the City Deal, South Ribble Borough Council is building a bright future by creating employment and investment opportunities while keeping our promise to be a clean, green and safe place in which to live.
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Rural tranquillity didn’t quite do it for broadband-starved UK Insulations. But that changed dramatically when it won the race to benefit from the Superfast Lancashire project, writes Mike Cowley
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hen finance director Ian Billing looks out of his office window, he has the comforting view of green fields and rolling hills to help ease the day-to-day stress of running an £8 million turnover company. That is due to UK Insulations being located in a 17th-century former cotton mill in the heart of the picturesque Lancashire moorland village of Belthorn – a community made up of weavers’ tied cottages, tastefully converted by their current more affluent owners. There has, however, been a price to pay for the firm being in a tranquil rural location: limited broadband access, where a megabit came to be accepted as the working norm. It is as if Belthorn had been stuck in a time warp, with residents struggling to download music and films and being forced to surf the internet on the equivalent of a piece of driftwood. The sight of sheep grazing peacefully nearby was not enough to counterbalance the boiling-point pressures for employees at UK Insulations, with files taking what seemed forever to download or to send to irritated customers who were not experiencing the same problems. Then there was the buffering of images in video conferences, which resulted in a quality lower than in the most grainy of Buster Keaton’s silent films, and without the benefit of a piano playing in the background. Now all that has changed. Belthorn has become the first rural community in the county to benefit from the multi-million pound Superfast Lancashire project, a partnership between Lancashire County Council, Blackburn with Darwen Council, Blackpool Council and BT, with additional funding from the Government’s Broadband Delivery UK and the European Regional Development Fund. Superfast Lancashire will see most of the 240 village premises in Belthorn connected to superfast fibre broadband. With the broadband box which allows all this to happen having been installed across the road from its premises, UK
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Insulations was the first in the queue for the breakthrough service which will bring high-speed broadband to 97 per cent of Lancashire’s homes and businesses by the end of 2015. The company – and the rest of the village – can now enjoy download speeds of 80 megabits per second and upload speeds of 20Mbps. Even if you don’t understand the technical speak, this means large files can be shared in seconds, whereas previously it had been, at best, a tortuous, time-consuming, hit-and-miss affair. In the case of UK Insulations, the cost of around £100 to effectively join the 21st century in terms of communications was a no-brainer – more than that is spent on providing coffee for its 37 employees over the course of a year. After all, the company had become a leader in its sector in Europe through customer service – and increased broadband speed translates into increased efficiency. Just how efficient can be judged by the fact that the major UK Insulations customer today in value terms is based in Romania, a country much closer to Germany where their main competition can be found. So how did a company which converts and supplies a range of electrical insulation materials to manufacturers mainly throughout Europe end up in a Lancashire village? Ian Billing admits that it can be as
surprising to some people as was the sudden appearance of a sweet factory in the Emmerdale soap. The UK Insulations story starts some 17 years ago, when the four founding directors were working on the management team of Hazelhurst, a Blackburn-based company which was then part of the Courtaulds Aerospace division. Courtaulds, like many of its peers at the time, decided to divest itself of noncore businesses – with Hazelhurst being offloaded to the competition. This was a move that did not appeal to Mr Billing or three of the other management team – managing director Keith White (who came from London and is the only nonLancashire member of the quartet), John Nolan and Cliff Hartshorn. “We didn’t see eye to eye with them – and they certainly didn’t see eye to eye with us,” Mr Billing recalls. “So that gave us the reason to take the chance that under other safe circumstances you might not have chosen to do. We were a cautious bunch of chaps and probably are to this day.” So all four resigned on Christmas Eve in 1996, and opened the doors of UK Insulations in a unit on an old industrial estate in Blackburn – along with seven other former Hazelhurst employees – on February 3, 1997. The core business at UK Insulations remains exactly the same as it did at Hazelhurst: supplying flexible electrical insulation materials to manufacturers and repairers of transformers, electric motors and generators. Initially, this resulted in a “legal spat” with their former employers, but this was eventually resolved. In the first year, the new company “just about broke even”, then for the next 12 years turnover increased year-on-year. Even when the recession hit in 2009 – and saw a 25 per cent drop in turnover – UK Insulations still made a profit. This success has precipitated moves to ever-larger premises over the years. The move to Belthorn, however, felt almost predestined – as, during the early years in Blackburn, the four directors held their board meetings in the restaurant of the Dog Inn in the village. “We would pass the mill and even said it would make a great location for us,” Mr Billing says. So when the time came to move, with the business again bursting at the seams, the old mill – which offered the 34,000 square feet then needed – came back on to the radar.
Now the firm, housed in a 17th-century Belthorn cotton mill, has joined the 21st century with a vengeance, as its highly practical insulating tapes and fabrics harmonise with abstract images (left) of broadband connectivity
It provided not only increased space but also a pleasant rural location just half a mile from the M65 – and at a competitive rent. Having moved there in 2007, the business has prospered ever since and the current financial year is shaping up to be the best yet – with a little help from the new superfast broadband. “The availability of good communications today is vital,” Ian Billing says. “And certainly, to a company like us, where our unique selling point is customer service, speed is essential. “We had tended to learn to live with what we had before, but it really got in the way of efficient working. Now, superfast gets over all that. Everyone in the office has got a lift from it. Belthorn is back up to speed with the rest of the world.”
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he arrival of superfast broadband at UK Insulations is the final piece of the jigsaw which allows Ian Billing to achieve his personal dream – of living in and working from Spain – confident that all is well back in Belthorn. In the new year, Mr Billing will swap his view of the Lancashire hills – so often shrouded in grey mist and rain – for a hilltop vista of the small fishing port of Moraira, an hour’s drive north of Alicante. He will continue his role as the company’s finance director from his new home – a villa with a swimming pool – which he will share with his wife Tracey in an area offering 320 days of sunshine per year. Normal day-to-day activities – checking foreign transactions (40 per cent of the business is conducted in euros) and monitoring stock levels – will continue, but remotely. Mr Billing will be not only be in daily contact with Belthorn, but has a clause in his new contract which will enable him to attend board meetings through video conferencing. “Superfast broadband has certainly helped in my move to yet another village,” he says. “It will be like working in Belthorn, but with sun.”
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Off to a flyer: Vive la différence, says new French boss of Burnley’s largest private employer By Mike Cowley
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hen Burnley Football Club presented their latest fan with a current version of the famous claretand-blue shirt with his name printed on the back, it caused a rather mixed reaction. After all, Stéphane Cueille, the dynamic new managing director of Aircelle, which sponsors a box at the club, is more of a French intellectual – with 16th-century Japanese culture being one of his passions – than your typical football supporter. So the personal gift elicited a mixture of pride and embarrassment: pride that the club had singled him out in such a way, embarrassment at the thought of possibly having to wear it. For while Mr Cueille is very much committed to Burnley FC, having withstood the pressures of his personal assistant and his finance director – supporters of Manchester United and Manchester City, respectively – the idea of actually pulling a football shirt over his head might be one step too far. This is just one of the cultural hurdles Mr Cueille has had to face since leaving Paris to become the new managing director of Burnley’s biggest private employer. As Aircelle was instrumental in setting up the Burnley Bondholder scheme, which helped to push the town’s economic re-
vival and was central to it becoming the UK’s “most enterprising area”, he is fully aware of how important the company is to Burnley’s present and future. The appreciation runs both ways. The newcomer has already been won over by the warmth of the townsfolk during his visits to what he describes as the “wonderful family atmosphere” of the football club’s home at Turf Moor. “I don’t know much about the rest of England,“ Mr Cueille says, “but I know Paris is very different”. Whenever the chance arises, he returns to the French capital to see his Japanese wife and their three young children. The couple keep the family home there, because they want the children to be brought up with an awareness of both cultures – French and Japanese. The family come across to Burnley whenever possible, with Mr Cueille ensuring that his two daughters and his son take in the delights of rambling through the surrounding countryside, including Pendle Hill. While Mr Cueille is keen on walking – particularly as the UK offers rights of way whereas France does not – it isn’t always the case with his youngsters. “Are we there yet?” is apparently a phrase that means the same in both English and French. Only the younger daughter seems to relish the exercise. Stéphane Cueille has taken a modern mews house in Burnley and enjoys cooking for himself there, having picked up a taste for local award-winning fare. Burnley also offers one key attraction: it is where the first jet engine was tested in the days of Sir Frank Whittle. “This being the cradle of the jet industry made it a place very close to my heart,” Mr Cueille says. “It has been linked with aviation ever since.”
As an engineering graduate of École Polytechnique, Mr Cueille’s career has involved both military and domestic aviation. His arrival in Burnley has seen him take over local production of nacelles – the engine housings – and, more recently, of reverse thrusters – effectively the brakes on a jet aircraft. The main customer is Rolls-Royce. The Burnley operation is part of the Safran Group, which employs nearly 62,500 people and is the only manufacturer which services all types of domestic
Stéphane Cueille: Delighted to be working in ‘the cradle of the industry’ – where the first jet engine was tested in the days of Sir Frank Whittle
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passenger aircraft up to and including the Airbus A380. In a sector where safety is the priority, having skilled employees is of paramount importance. Mr Cueille says his current workforce is “as good as anywhere in the world”. It is attracting the talent for the future which is Mr Cueille’s main concern, however. “A national weakness in the UK is the limited pool of engineering graduates,” he says. “It is recognised by the Government, but it will take time to change that.” One of the strengths of Burnley is its being ahead of the game in tackling this issue: the town is fast developing as a centre of excellence for advanced manufacturing. Aircelle has already been working closely with Burnley Council, local schools, colleges and universities – and other private sector partners – to prepare the ground for the next skilled generation. One Aircelle initiative won it the somewhat wordy if worthy Business in the Community 2013 North West Work Inspiration Local Impact award, after hosting an event for 1,000 Burnley students on the factory site. Watching today’s aerospace workers mixing with the youngsters who could become tomorrow’s top engineers and entrepreneurs has helped Stéphane Cueille to appreciate something key to his new home’s culture. “The town has faced big challenges,” he says, “but local people didn’t accept that those would carry on. They focused on what was needed and getting ahead. It makes them fighters – and this is why Burnley has come back from difficult times and will continue to succeed.”
How back-to-basics Burnley got back on the rails
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or a Lancashire town that recently won the award for being the most enterprising area in the UK, it seems perverse that the quickest rail journey from Burnley to neighbouring Manchester means either going through Yorkshire – enough to make any true Lancastrian spit – or via its rival, Blackburn. Now, thanks to a resurgence in Burnley’s fortunes, all that is to change. A new railway line is being built, providing a direct link to Manchester for the first time since the axe fell on the old version in the 1960s. The construction has come about due to two key factors. One was the priority given to reinstating the link by Steve Rumbelow when he became chief executive of the town, and the backing he received from both the previous Liberal Democrat and the current Labour administrations at Burnley Town Hall. The other factor is the undoubted success of the Burnley Bondholder scheme, which has raised Burnley’s profile to that of the “comeback town”, when it had once topped the list of boroughs in decline. A new twist on business networking, the scheme has seen over 100 local companies buy bonds and has raised £10 million in investment.
“When I went round to see the companies about Burnley Bondholders,” Mr Rumbelow recalls, “then told them they would have to pay to join, I thought they would show me the door. But they didn’t.” This brand-building initiative dates back to 2006, when Burnley commissioned a survey into the perception of the town by businesses located within a 30-mile radius. The key finding was that there was “no perception”. They are nothing if not fighters in Burnley, however. Even during the heart of the recession, the town achieved an increase in private sector employment of 7.8 per cent, when UK plc had zero growth. “We are very much a manufacturing town,” Mr Rumbelow says. “When everyone was being seduced by the financial sector, we took the view there was scope to rebuild our manufacturing. It seemed brave at the time, but we were only going back to our basic skills.” Now the approach is paying off. The new rail link to Manchester is set to be operational next year. It will halve the commuting time from around two hours at worst to 45 minutes, and will massively boost local gross value added.
This is just part of the picture. Steve Rumbelow highlights success stories such as Velocity Composites – aerospace engineers whose products are used in the Airbus, Eurofighter Typhoon and other planes. “Since relocating to their new purpose-built facility here in 2011,” he says, “the company has doubled its workforce and turnover”. An aerospace supplier park covering 38 acres will soon be launched, providing highquality accommodation for the sector to expand. American industrial giants Kaman Aerospace are already in place. There was a 24 per cent increase in company start-ups between 2010 and 2011 – compared to 11 per cent nationally – and the “Burnley business buzz” is building up. There is Grade A development land newly available, such as the 70-acre Burnley Bridge – the largest employment site in this part of the North West, capable of creating over 1,000 new jobs. With developments in the economy, in its diverse and good-value housing offer and in its brand-new high schools, the attractions of Burnley for investors – and for commuters from Manchester – only look set to continue.
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nyone who has ever travelled by road to or from Preston in the rush hour will have been able to see at first-hand what the Preston, South Ribble and Lancashire City Deal is meant to resolve. Frustrated motorists slump dejectedly behind steering wheels, thinking they would have been better staying late in the office rather than trying to get home to a slowly singed supper. True, this could be happening in most British cities, but the Preston Crawl is almost as famous as the Lambeth Walk, albeit without the music. For while the region’s success story is in no small part due to the fact that it has some of the country’s best roads running through it – the M6, M55, M61 and M65 converge in the City Deal area – the problem can be accessing them through the minefield of pinch-points strewn along the way. Gridlock is becoming a commonly heard description. The morning commute alone sees more than 1,000 vehicles an hour heading into Preston on each of the numerous radial routes that feed the city, to add to Preston’s own locally generated traffic. With the amount of development scheduled under the City Deal, and accounting for the switch to more sustainable forms of travel which the City Deal envisages, this daily traffic is set to increase by more than a third. So although the area is outperforming many other regions in terms of employment, it is bursting at the seams logistically, threatening its huge growth potential. The major infrastructure changes now agreed will not only make this growth possible, but will have the added benefit of reducing the congestion while allowing more road space to be given over to public transport and other forms of travel. Typically, the journey time for one very popular but over-congested route –
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Key figures are eager to see fresh business oil in so-sticky wheels of the Preston Crawl, writes Mike Cowley
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Forum Lancashire City Deal
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If we look back to the first Industrial Revolution, there was a tremendous hunger for knowledge – and we need that today across the city centre – will come down from 30 to 20 minutes, a welcome saving for individual motorists and a considerable boost in terms of reducing the total hours lost to businesses and workers when multiplied by the many thousands of journeys made each day. The new Government-backed City Deal is so important to the region because it provides the infrastructure needed to generate £1 billion gross value added (GVA) growth, along with 20,000 new jobs and more than 17,000 new homes. (See panel opposite for details.) Which is why an invited cross-section of the great and good in Lancashire gathered for a Forum from The Times to discuss the pros and cons of the deal in the futuristic setting of the Media Factory at the University of Central Lancashire in the heart of Preston – though the cons were, understandably, as scarce as hens’ teeth. Under the chairmanship of Edwin Booth – the urbane head of both Booths Stores and the Lancashire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) – it soon became clear that there was unanimity about the City Deal, which showed the strong progress made by a sub-region once characterised by parochial infighting.. Mr Booth opened the debate by asking whether the City Deal showed that a second Industrial Revolution was already underway in the county that had been home to the first. “I want to establish whether it provides the opportunity to revisit our past in a more modern environment,” he said. Jenny Mein, the leader of Lancashire County Council, took up the challenge. “Most certainly,” she said. “It should be known by now that Preston is outperforming other comparable cities, and
many much larger ones, in job creation. The City Deal gives us the certainty of the funding going forward, helping us deliver on that, to build on the potential.” Renowned Lancashire restaurateur Paul Heathcote – chairman of Marketing Lancashire – saw the City Deal as providing the perfect ingredients for an influx of new companies. “Small cities such as Preston have to work harder,” said the celebrity chef who spent 12 years under the guidance of Raymond Blanc, “and Preston is a perfect example of this being the case. “The end result of the City Deal will be an influx of new businesses, just as happened at the time of the first Industrial Revolution here. When you are in business, one concern is set-up costs. The City Deal can underpin these, with the new infrastructure and everything that goes with it: ease of access, better accommodation.” It was stressed that Lancashire had far more to offer than just benefits for business. “I’ve lived here all my life and I think it is fabulous,” Mr Booth said. “But it is important that Lancashire becomes an even better place, and we need industry activity as a driver. “We have to have young people who feel stimulated and inspired. If we look back to the first Industrial Revolution, there was a tremendous hunger for knowledge – and we need that today”. The chairman asked Amanda Melton – principal and chief executive of Nelson and Colne College, and also deputy chair of the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership skills board – how this was going to be achieved. “I hear from a lot of them that there is a problem with the capacity of young people to take up the vacancies that arise, because they haven’t got the
Heads together (from left): Jenny Mein, Edwin Booth, Paul Heathcote and Amanda Melton. Seeing new business life beyond the Preston Crawl (below, right)
right skills,” Mrs Melton said. “Employers are not only demanding the young people have good literacy and numeracy skills when they leave school or college, they want them to be able to quickly learn and adapt to workplace settings.” She added that this was becoming increasingly important, as many employers are reporting that their workforces are heading towards retirement, so the demand for new talent was intensifying. Mr Booth then asked if the employers were doing their part. “Whereas employers need to be satisfied that youngsters understand their industry,” Mrs Melton responded, “the best way is to provide them with advice and guidance when they are deciding on their journey.” She expressed concern, however, that there was a major hurdle for Lancashire educationalists to overcome in the form of the common inspections framework in schools. “It is very difficult at the moment and it is going to become even more so,” she said. “The new best eight GCSE scores will be the indicator as to whether a school is successful. So there is a little bit of tension between hitting league table targets and being able to understand and prepare students to work in a particular sector now and in the future.” Edwin Booth noted that he had been told about the same issue two years ago, “and nothing has changed”. Councillor Mein weighed in, expressing hope that setting up the skills board will make a stronger partnership approach. “The fact that we have got this City Deal is a victory for partnership working,” she said. “Now, hopefully, the skills board will be able to bring together schools and industry so we get young people understanding the chances that are out there for them.
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The deal’s ten-year targets
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uilding on success of the initial City Deals agreed last year with the eight core cities, the Preston, South Ribble and Lancashire City Deal was the first of the second wave. The City Deal agreed with Government builds on the strong economic performance of the area over the last ten years. It will help to ensure that the area continues to grow, by addressing strategic transport infrastructure and development challenges to deliver new jobs and housing. Over a ten-year period, the City Deal will generate: More than 20,000 net new private sector jobs, including 5,000 in the Lancashire Enterprise Zone. Nearly £1 billion growth in gross value added. A total of 17,420 new homes. £2.3bn in leveraged commercial investment. To deliver these results, the City Deal partners in local and central government will establish an infrastructure delivery programme and investment fund, with a combined value of £434 million. The £334m infrastructure delivery programme will allow the full realisation of commercial development and housing
“At the moment, they don’t. So it is really important that the skills board works really hard with businesses to get them into schools. Students need more experience of work skills while they are at school – even outside the normal working day, if that is the only way forward.” Mr Booth added that having workready students was an issue not just for Lancashire but for the whole of the UK. “We need to make sure that people are not only numerate and literate,” he said, “but ready to engage with business right from the off.” Mrs Melton said that Lancashire was “blessed” with entrepreneurial colleges and schools – and departments within universities – which were “willing to take risks and try new methods”. She added: “In order for young people to be able to access the job market from a flying start, they need to be able to understand the pressure and demands of actually working. A direct line of sight to a career, we have to provide that. We want to make them take a few chances in taking something new – instead of expecting that the previous educational opportunities will necessarily be the right ones for them.” Mrs Melton also insisted that the City Deal should not be overlooked in the terms of apprenticeship opportunities for Lancashire students. “We need to make sure we are delivering the apprentice opportunities round the infrastructure changes,” she said. “We need to make the most of the construction and engineering that will be taking place. These apprenticeships are the opportunity for young people to be earning and learning to meet the full spectrum of demand out there.”
At the heart of all these new opportunities for the youth of Lancashire lies the City Deal itself, and the Forum panel was asked whether this was the right way forward in light of the huge spend associated with it. “A cynic might say that this is just a great big release of land and a road-building programme,” Mr Booth said, playing devil’s advocate. Cllr Mein argued that there was no option. “Anyone who has driven down the A6 at half past eight on a Monday morning – or any other morning during the week, for that matter – knows how difficult it is to get in and out of Preston,” she said. “That shows how vital it is to get the infrastructure in place. We’ve got plans for thousands of new homes to be built to the north of Preston – that simply can’t happen without a road to take people between homes and jobs and schools. “It is about connecting businesses to customers and people to jobs. We already have an Enterprise Zone in place – this will help people get to and from there. It will encourage high-end businesses to relocate to Lancashire. At the moment, they see difficulties in travel, difficulties in housing. We can’t change this without the new infrastructure.” Paul Heathcote suggested that as Lancashire is currently well placed with existing motorways – and a mainline railway station – then “growing a few arms and legs may not be as difficult as it is for other areas”. The case for “the other end of the M65” was then taken up by Amanda Melton. “It is a long way from Preston,” she said. “But Preston will obviously benefit from skilled people who are living in Burnley and Pendle, and so will advanced manufacturing out in Burnley and Pendle. Combined with the rail links that are
The only way of getting things done is to work together
schemes. This includes four major highway schemes, along with the necessary local community infrastructure – such as schools and health facilities – required to support the scale of such development. The investment fund consists of a local allocation of £100m from the Lancashire Pension Fund, which will be co-invested on a commercial basis in housing and development schemes in the City Deal area. This allocation is a new venture for the Lancashire Pension Fund. As a result of City Deal, four major road schemes will be delivered: A new Preston Western Distributor will link the A583/ A584 to the motorway network via a new junction on the M55. The road will improve access to the Warton site of the Lancashire Enterprise Zone and the Springfields nuclear fuel facility at Salwick, and will enable the comprehensive development of the North West Preston strategic housing location of over 4,000 new homes. Scheme costs: £109.5m. An enhanced South Ribble Western Distributor (SRWD) will double vehicle capacity between Preston city centre and the motorway network at the
going to be updated, this will obviously have a huge economic impact.” Again, Edwin Booth reminded the panel that the City Deal was not just about economic activity, but also the opportunity to improve the quality of life in an area where this is already a major attraction. He said that developers needed to ensure the new homes included sharing heating resources, and this could be extended to the Enterprise Zones where resources could be shared to reduce operating costs. “We have a marvellous opportunity here not only to be right up to the minute, but also class-leading in the developments,” he said.
point where the M65, M6 and M61 connect. This enhancement will enable full development of, and access to, Cuerden strategic employment site and the adjacent Lancashire Business Park. In addition, the road will unlock housing sites to create over 2,700 homes. Scheme costs: £52.5m. A new Broughton Bypass will provide critical relief to the A6, North East Preston and the M6. This road will release housing sites to create over 1,400 new homes, as well as enabling full development of new and future employment sites in East Preston. creating over 5,000 new jobs. Scheme costs: £23.9m. A new section of road will complete the Penwortham Bypass, complementing SRWD capacity improvements and connecting the network to Ringway. The completed bypass will significantly improve access between local and motorway networks, while reducing congestion in Preston city centre. It will also enable future housing opportunities to come forward beyond 2024, and will define the route of a potential new bridge crossing of the River Ribble.
The panel also reviewed the initiatives produced in the county by the Lancashire LEP since it was launched twoand-a-half years ago – and the impact of these on the City Deal. “The LEP has been very successful,” said Jenny Mein. “The fact that the Growing Places Fund is being used and now recycled, the fact that superfast broadband is being rolled out and we are ahead of the game there, these are the kind of things that ensured the City Deal received the support of the Cabinet Office.” So how has all this been achieved? “There is now a commercial pragmatism,” Mr Booth said, “a professionalism that has been applied in the way we deal with Whitehall that has impressed a number of people down there.” Then there is the highly significant matter of the public and private sectors working closely together, thanks in no small part to the LEP having provided an umbrella organisation for the entire county. “It is a question of getting good people together round a table,” Mr Heathcote said. “There’s less money around for both the public and private sectors, so the only way of getting things done is to work together – and this is what has happened in Lancashire. And will continue to do so. “The recession has been long and hard, but we’ve realised here in Lancashire that there has been a wake-up call needed and we’ve woken up early and are right ahead of the pack. I would encourage anybody to look at Lancashire long and hard, because there is business to be done here.” With that, it was exit stage left for the Forum panel. And, as it was at the start of the evening rush hour, it was out into the Preston Crawl.
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she switched to a CME Medical pump carried in her backpack. Even closer to home, Stephen Thorpe found himself seated next to a woman who was using one of his company’s pumps when he attended an event at the Blackpool Sixth Form College. He noticed this because the woman was carrying it under her arm rather than in the pouch normally provided. Striking up a conversation with the sufferer from brittle asthma – which requires a constant supply of infused antibiotics – Mr Thorpe discovered that she hadn’t been given a pouch. Naturally, he made sure she got one. The CME pumps are no longer simply infusion devices, as they keep pace with the latest communications technology. They are becoming ever more sophisticated, with new models incorporating Wi-Fi chips which enable the care provider to monitor what is happening to the patient and so adjust the levels when needed. That is why Stephen Thorpe remains passionate about what he does. As a schoolboy, he wanted to be a doctor – with a little urging from his mother. However, he spent too much time enjoying himself, and didn’t get the requisite grades in his science A-levels. After graduating in business and finance, Mr Thorpe opted for a career in sales – but not any old sales. He wanted his work to have a purpose, so spent some time at the number one in the world at the time in pharmaceuticals, Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD). Eventually moving to a company that sold one pump for one condition, he spotted the opportunity that lay in providing a range of pumps for the infinite range of conditions – and CME Medical was born. Having forged a business relationship with a specialist pump manufacturer in Israel, the next stage saw Mr Thorpe effectively establish his own market by consulting directly with the medical professionals – something he still does to this day. Today, there are more than 40,000 CME pumps in use in the UK – and the company has grown at a rate of between 35 and 40 per cent a year for the last decade. CME Medical has become the second-largest supplier of infusion products in the UK, offering specialist tools covering specific treatments to customers such as BUPA and Healthcare at Home. “What the big boys don’t do well is the specialist areas,” Mr Thorpe says, “and
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tephen Thorpe, the executive chairman at CME Medical, keeps an aide-mémoire on how to deal with crises on his desk at his Blackpool office. Based on a scale of one to ten – with ten being death – how important is the problem, it asks? This is just one of the work “tools” that the already highly successful entrepreneur has picked up from attending the Lancashire Forum business masterclasses – which form part of the county’s Boost Business programme – and his motivation for going along is that you never stop learning. The reference to our limited life expectancy is particularly appropriate for Mr Thorpe, given that his products are used to treat serious conditions – or, in the worst case scenario, to at least alleviate them. Pumps as a business may not sound exciting, but when they are specialist pump infusion devices that will allow patients to receive medication on the move – rather than being confined to hospital beds – then that is a different matter. CME Medical is right on the money at a time when the NHS is stretched to capacity, and anything that relieves pressure on hospitals is as welcome as a budget increase. Nor does it end there, as the company’s pumps – likened to small Walkman devices – are designed for simplicity of use and so are being used to replace complicated existing pumps which have led to wrong and sometime lethal doses being administered by overworked nursing staff in hospitals. Human stories abound about the benefits of the pumps. A London businessman who had to attend hospital every day suddenly found himself free to visit his villa in Florida which he had not seen for five years – and duly sent a thank-you message. A woman aged 18, who had previously spent ten hours a day on a standard pump because she was unable to take her nutrition any other way, was freed to attend school and visit her friends when
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this is our niche.” But busy as he always is, he still finds time for learning through the Boost Business Lancashire initiative. “Being a leader tends to be lonely,” he says. “Everyone looks to you for wisdom and you don’t always have it. You need to go outside your business to see the real picture. You need to take a helicopter view. When I go to a Forum I get the opportunity to talk to chief executives, and they challenge me in a way employees don’t do. Then they ask me next month why I haven’t sorted it out.” While no one can teach him about his technology, Mr Thorpe sees the benefits in that business skills are “completely transferable”. He recently put this into practice at CME Medical when he hired as his managing director someone met at a Forum. Having come from the cosmetic sector – where margins are much smaller than in pump infusion – the new recruit has already had a significant impact on internal processes. “Businesses are really a series of problems that need solving,” Mr Thorpe says. “And just as we provide customers with tools, so Forums provide me with tools which help me solve my own.”
CME Medical’s executive chairman Stephen Thorpe, centre, works on one of the company’s pumps with a colleague
Boost Business Lancashire is the £7.2 million European Regional Development Fund-backed Lancashire Business Growth Hub led by the Lancashire Local Enterprise Partnership. The aim is to grow the county’s economy by £20m, create at least 1,200 new jobs and safeguard 700 more by 2015. A total of 235 businesses have signed up since Boost Business was launched in June, ranging in size from pre-start-ups through to those with a turnover of under £40m while employing fewer than 250 people. Boost Business offers simple access to a range of funded programmes delivered by specialists in supporting growth, including Community & Business Partners, the University of Central Lancashire, Lancaster University, Regenerate Pennine Lancashire and Winning Pitch.
Rosebud responds to Respond
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hen Lancasterbased entrepreneurs Guy Cookson and Andrew Dobson were looking for the third round of funding for a product called Respond – which gives webbased advertisers a bigger bang for their buck – they didn’t have far to go. Instead of turning to the same venture capital source which had come up with the six-figure sums required previously, they headed for Rosebud from Lancashire County Council. Rosebud was set up some 20 years ago, long before it became fashionable for councils to offer funding for private businesses, and has historically had a mixed
portfolio, backing both manufacturing companies and chip shops. While there is Regional Growth Fund money available in Lancashire, this is limited to 20 per cent for capital investment costs – leaving an 80 per cent hole for which Rosebud is often used. Investing around £1.6 million a year, the last 18 months has seen Rosebud shift its emphasis to larger deals starting at around £300,000, as this provides a better return for the county – although it also has Rosebud Micro, which invests from as low as £10,000. Respond, then, was a perfect fit – and the company again walked away with a six-figure
sum to help it enter the lucrative export market, with the US being the prime target. The company stood up well to due diligence. It already has a finance director and has a customer base which includes the New Statesman, with key names on the team including Lee Baker, former managing director of the Online Publishers Association, and Paul Hickey of Microsoft. According to Andrew Dobson, the Rosebud team went out of their way to make the exercise as easy as possible, taking into account that they are all working at full steam. “The money from Rosebud will put us on the international stage,” he says. “The scale of opportunity then becomes massive.”
the times | Tuesday December 10 2013
13
Business Insight
Comment & analysis
Raise a half-full glass to a happier new year Alan McIntosh, chief investment strategist for Quilter Cheviot Investment Management, examines global and UK economic prospects for 2014
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he economist John Kenneth Galbraith famously said that the only function of economic forecasting was to make astrology look respectable. Trying to predict anything in life, let alone the future of the economy, is fraught – but this should not stop us from analysing in an attempt to make some informed predictions about 2014. The big question is whether it will be the year when the global economy finally shakes off the downturn and turns the corner – reaching “escape velocity”, to use the current popular phrase in economics. Or is growth too fragile to last, with public and private debt still dangerously high in many countries? We at Quilter Cheviot are in the glasshalf-full camp, despite mixed signals about the health of the global economy. The International Monetary Fund recently cut its forecast for growth to 2.9 per cent in 2013 and 3.6 per cent in 2014. This forecast, which seems plausible to us, unsettled some commentators – but we believe there are reasons to be cheerful about global prospects. First among these is that the US, the world’s biggest economy, is showing signs of sustainable growth. The country’s economy grew by 2.8 per cent in the third quarter, and we think it may grow by about 3 per cent in 2014. That is what we call “Goldilocks” growth – because, like the famous porridge, it is neither too hot (inflationary) nor too cold (recessionary). The last recession was different to previous ones, being primarily a balance sheet recession, which lasted a long time. The banks, in effect, bust the economy – starting in the US and surging across the world. Quantitative easing has been of limited use. Much of it went to the banks but didn’t filter through into real economy, so consumers were not spending and businesses – particularly small ones – were starved of credit. In the US, consumer confidence is growing. Why? People are more confident that they will be in their job in a year’s time and that their salary will be higher. Consumers are paying down debt, starting to save again and buying bigticket items such as cars. The average car in the US is about ten years old and needs replacing. Things look promising elsewhere, too. The UK has seen two quarters of very strong growth, leading the chancellor, George Osborne, to talk about the economy having “turned the corner” – a much more upbeat tone than even six months ago. In the eurozone, predictions of economic meltdown – economies defaulting on sovereign debt and leaving the eurozone – have not yet come true, although
some of the economies in southern Europe still have major challenges such as unemployment. Look east, and there are also reasons to be cheerful. Japan, the world’s third-largest economy – which has not grown for about 20 years – is looking stronger after a big devaluation of the yen. We think its economy may grow by between about 1.5 per cent and 2 per cent in 2014. Some experts are worried that China, whose cheap goods and foreign investment helped to keep Western economies afloat in the recession, cannot maintain its growth of 10 per cent or so. Some believe that China could even be heading for a crash, as export markets dry up and its government overspends on huge infrastructure projects to boost growth. Yes, Chinese growth is likely to slow next year to about 7 per cent, but it is not worth panicking yet. China’s middle class is growing. Wages in the country are in effect doubling every five years. Average income per head is still only around $6,000, but the poor can increasingly afford more branded consumer goods – which is good news for Western companies. Bear in mind, too, that China’s communist government runs a command economy and therefore has much greater influence over its economy than do Western governments. China is one of the so-called BRIC economies, alongside Brazil, Russia and India. Over the last five or so years, these fast-growing economies have been tipped as the future of the global economy, offsetting slower growth in more developed Western economies. But now, the BRIC countries aren’t looking so hot. Brazil is expected to grow by about 2.5 per cent in 2014 and India by about 5 per cent. Although these are good growth figures by Western standards, they are only half those of five years ago. But is steady growth really so bad? What is happening is a rebalancing of the global economy. Economic power shifted from West to East, and now some of that power is seeping back West again. In the UK, meanwhile, the real question is whether austerity policies have worked. Answering the question purely on the basis of economic growth, we would say a tentative yes. In the UK, quantitative easing – the creation of new money by a central bank to buy assets such as government bonds – broadly ended in late 2012. The US government is finding it harder to wean itself away from quantitative easing, the crack cocaine of economic stimulus. It is still buying tens of billions of dollars’ worth of bonds in an effort to boost growth. The UK economy still has some weaknesses, one being an over-reliance on
Looking brighter and promising more to come: the UK has seen two quarters of very strong growth
Economic power shifted from West to East and now some of that power is seeping back again
consumer spending. But, as we move towards 2014, there is growing business investment. Exports are picking up and will remain solid, and we reckon the economy may grow by about 1.5 per cent in 2013 and about 2.5 per cent in 2014. Business groups are also more optimistic about UK growth prospects. In October, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) raised its growth forecasts for 2014 and 2015, predicting that the UK economy will grow by 2.4 per cent, rising slightly to 2.6 per cent growth in 2015. Three industries – manufacturing, pubs and financial services – highlight why we think the UK economy may finally have turned the corner and be set for a decent 2014. UK manufacturing is on a roll. Growth in the sector was the strongest for 18 years, according to a survey by the CBI in October. The survey of nearly 350 manufacturers found that total order books relative to normal levels were at their strongest since March 1995. Export order books were also above average. Car manufacturing is one of the bright spots. The UK’s largest car manufacturer is Nissan, and in September the Japanese company said it would spend £250 million on expanding its UK factory. This expansion is in response to a recovery in the car sector, which is an integral part of that wider revival in UK manufacturing. Fellow car-maker Jaguar Land Rover has increased its factory workforce by more than half over the past two years – and, despite years of gloomy talk about the supposed inexorable decline of UK manufacturing, it is worth noting that it still accounts for about 11 per cent of the UK’s gross domestic product. But what about another great British industry and institution – the pub? Will success be toasted in 2014? Pubs are still closing, especially the “wet” ones that
Positive signs: Alan McIntosh
rely on money from drink to drive their sales, rather than more profitable food. But for food-orientated gastro pubs, 2014 should be a good year. They weathered the recession better than many sectors, partly by attracting more families who want to eat good-quality food in a nice environment at a reasonable price Financial services are the final part of our trio to watch in 2014. That does not mean the sector will necessarily get back to its former levels of breakneck growth – but, on the plus side, growth does look likely to be more stable. Everywhere we look, in fact, we see more positive signs than negative ones. So let’s raise our (half-full) glass to the economy in 2014.
Tuesday December 10 2013 | the times
14
Business Insight
The Law
Roots that grow respect Walker Morris knows how to attract leading clients outside London, writes Barry McDonald
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istorically, Walker Morris could have sought to grow their practice by following the crowd and opening a flurry of offices across the UK. What is apparent, however, is that Walker Morris have set themselves apart from the crowd and ploughed their own furrow by being resolutely a single-office firm. Recently hailed by Chambers and Partners as the leading law firm in Leeds, the practice have remained true to their Leeds roots – and, while a large part of their work is generated from outside the region, their focus on their clients and on the people and skills in the Leeds office has paid huge dividends. “We do not pay too much attention to what our competitors are doing, hence we have not sought to be a national practice by seeking to open up a lot of regional offices,” says managing partner Ian Gilbert. “Instead, we have focused on providing a better service to our
Collaboration: managing partner Ian Gilbert clients by concentrating our resources in one location and projecting that out to a national and international client base. “Part of that is to do with creating a certain culture based around true collegiality, enabling us to offer outstanding client service,
which is easier to do if you’re in a single office.” It is an approach that has certainly paid off, as Walker Morris boast an impressive client list which includes well-known companies such as Persimmon, Starbucks and Asda. “We’ve never had pressure from clients to make a multi-regional offering” Mr Gilbert says. “Undoubtedly there are certain clients we might receive more instructions from if we had a regional presence, but I think in the current environment – where value is very important – having a sensible cost base, which we have by operating from one location outside London, is a key differentiator for us compared to the multi-office or Londonbased firms.” A central pillar of the Walker Morris strategy for success is developing their people and expertise in niche areas, where they can build a national recognition based on expertise rather than on location. This is something that has also been acknowledged by Chambers and Partners, who recognise the firm nationally. As a consequence, the majority of the firm’s work now originates from outside of their heartland. One of their recent significant successes was the completion of the initial public of-
fering (IPO) for Servelec Group on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange (LSE), valuing the company at over £120 million. The flotation involved the largest placing of shares as part of an IPO by a UK-listed software company since 2000 and is one of the few IPOs on the Main Market of the LSE to be handled outside London. “There’s always a bit of a gap between what people think needs to be done in London and what can be done in the regions,” Mr Gilbert says. “The Servelec flotation is a case in point. The message is: if you are a company looking to go public and you’re based outside of London, there’s no reason to go to London for your legal advice.” As for the future, Ian Gilbert says the focus remains firmly on Walker Morris’s emphasis on its culture. “It’s about having a highly motivated talented team who are focused on developing long-term meaningful relationships with clients which are based around a shared purpose of creating mutual benefit,” he says. “Having a collaborative culture means working with our clients in the good times and helping them out in the bad times. “It is actually quite simple: if we focus on what is in our clients’ best interests, this will ultimately be in our best interests.”
An independent law firm, challenging convention and achieving great results for its clients. www.walkermorris.co.uk
Ian Gilbert, Managing Partner Walker Morris LLP +44 (0)113 283 2558 ian.gilbert@walkermorris.co.uk
the times | Tuesday December 10 2013
15
Business Insight
Law guide
Who’s a leader at what New Chambers book features more detail than ever, reports Barry McDonald
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or the past 23 years, they have served as indispensable guides across the UK and beyond. The Chambers Guides have been ranking the best law firms and lawyers since the first edition in 1990, and now cover 185 jurisdictions throughout the world. Chambers and Partners have just launched the 2014 UK Guide, ranking the legal leaders across all practice areas in the country. The guide features a new-style editorial, designed to truly highlight a firm’s capability in a given practice area. In addition, for the first time, the guide includes extended editorial on a brand new website, giving further information and insight into what firms can do. “This year’s guide features a new style of editorial containing more detailed content than ever before,” says the UK editor Jonathan Rubin. “As a
result, through both the guide and the website, readers will have a much better understanding of law firms’ capabilities and strengths in over 70 different practice areas.” The guide ranks both lawyers and law firms based on the research of 150 full-time editors and researchers employed at the head office in London. They talk to lawyers and clients, conducting in-depth telephone interviews, and all researchers are highly trained in the techniques of investigative research. In addition, the Chambers Guides use information submitted by law firms, but the most credible source of information remains their in-depth face-to-face and telephone interviews, which provide wide-ranging and testable information on which the rankings and commentary rely. No other organisation has the in-depth strength of Chambers’ editorial and research team when it comes to assessing the world’s business lawyers. International In-house Counsel Journal, an independent publication, recently conducted a survey of over 20,000 in-house counsels from around the world. When asked: “If you use di-
rectories to identify law firms / individuals, which do you use?”, over 51 per cent said Chambers and Partners was their first port of call. Another new feature for the 2014 UK Guide is the National Leaders (based outside London) tables. These showcase those firms which have a genuine national capability and are renowned for their excellence throughout the UK. Looking ahead to next year, Mr Rubin notes that the team is particularly interested in hearing from firms which specialise in working with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and owner-managed businesses. “We hope to include specific sections on this part of the market in our corporate/mergers and acquisitions, real estate, banking and finance, and litigation chapters,” he says. For the first time, the team will also research art and cultural property law, and POCA (Proceeds of Crime Act) work and asset forfeiture. Both will be researched on a UK-wide basis, so any firm can submit for them. Also new for the 2015 edition, Chambers are accepting regional submissions for both criminal and civil fraud.
Law firm rankings for the North Leeds Rankings by organisation: Tie between Addleshaw Goddard and Walker Morris for first place (17 each) Tie between DLA Piper and Pinsent Masons for third place (14 each)
Rankings by individuals: Walker Morris (44) Addleshaw Goddard (35)
Manchester Rankings by organisation: Tie between DWF and Pannone (16 each)
Rankings by individuals: DWF (37) Addleshaw Goddard (35)
Newcastle upon Tyne Rankings by organisation: Ward Hadaway (18) Bond Dickinson (17)
Rankings by individuals: Bond Dickinson (38) Ward Hadaway (37)
Supply Chain: New Centre, New Programmes New centre Leeds University Business School has launched a research centre to focus on developing the latest practices in supply chain management and to provide practical advice to support businesses throughout the UK. The Centre for Operations and Supply Chain Research (COSCR) was officially launched by its director, Professor Chee Yew Wong at an event on 9 December. The event featured a guest lecture by Dr Tomas Hult from the Eli Broad College of Business at Michigan State University, who has also launched his latest book, Global Supply Chain Management. Supply chain management is growing in its sophistication and its influence on business strategies. Every resource we use goes through some kind of supply chain, which can involve a variety of activities from operations to manufacturing, innovation and customer relations. The COSCR provides a range of opportunities to grow the skills, competencies and confidence of business leaders and managers, enabling
them to integrate these functions and ensure the long-term sustainability of their companies. Speaking about the new centre, Professor Wong stressed the value it brings to both businesses and students: “The COSCR is a multi-disciplinary research centre that focuses on developing and disseminating knowledge in operations and supply chain management, as well as advancing managerial practices.”
Strategic partnership Leeds University Business School has recently formed a strategic relationship with the Eli Broad College of Business at Michigan State University which will provide a foundation for the two organisations to work together. “We’ve partnered with Michigan State because we have common educational values,” says Professor Wong. “They are also global leaders in supply chain expertise with a great deal of experience of working with blue chip companies.”
New 3 Day Programme As part of its Supply Chain Mastery series, the first executive development event to be run by the COSCR and Michigan State will be a three day residential
programme at the beginning of February next year. Emerging Integrated Supply Chain Strategies and New Constructs of Value will introduce new and emerging supply chain strategies to managers working in operations and supply chain, providing them with the skills and perspectives to increase business resilience and efficiency.
http://business.leeds.ac.uk/supply-chain
For further information about the Centre for Operations and Supply Chain Research, contact: Rob Whieldon, r.whieldon@leeds.ac.uk - +44 (0)113 344 3913
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